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June 10, 2013

Only two Trinity Mirror regionals increasing circulation as group posts first monthly figures

By Gavriel Hollander

Two of Trinity Mirror’s 14 leading regional newspapers have grown their circulation this year.

According to the latest ABC figures, the Birmingham Mail and The Western Mail in Wales were the only papers to increase circulation in May compared to average circulation for the six months to the end of December 2012.

The Birmingham Mail averaged a circulation of 42,593 for May, up 6.3 per cent from the average figure for the last six months of 2012. The Western Mail, meanwhile, increased circulation by just under 3 per cent to stand at an average of 23,717.

The biggest falls were suffered by Teesside’s Evening Gazette (9.9 per cent), the Sunday Mercury in Birmingham (8.4 per cent) and the Sunday Sun in Newcastle (8.2 per cent).

Last month marked the first time that Trinity Mirror’s biggest regional daily and Sunday titles have been audited on a monthly basis. Next month’s figures are likely to give a more accurate picture of month on month performance.

However, Trinity Mirror is likely to be relatively happy with the performance of its regional titles, with the 11 daily and three Sunday papers registering an overall fall in circulation of just 4.3 per cent from the second half of last year to May 2013.

Although, it is not a like-for-like comparison, several national newspapers have seen circulation fall by more than 10 per cent compared to 12 months ago. The Trinity Mirror figures suggest that the fall in circulation for regional titles is slower than for many of their national peers.

Last month, Trinity Mirror announced that 11 of its regional papers would be audited monthly. Three more titles – The Journal in Newcastle, Huddersfield’s Daily Examiner and the Western Mail – were later added to the list.

“We are pleased to be leading the way in the regional press by providing monthly ABC figures,” said Allan Tyldesley, newspaper sales director at Trinity Mirror. “In the coming months we’ll also be adding our regional digital figures.”

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